PaintExpo 2024: Strong Visitor Turnout, Great Atmosphere and More International Than Ever Before
With excellent visitor numbers and a very busy atmosphere in three exhibition halls as well as countless highly qualified professional conversations and new customer contacts, the ninth edition of PaintExpo from 9 to 12 April 2024 was a tremendous success. At the world's leading trade fair for industrial coating technology in the German city of Karlsruhe, 431 exhibitors from 25 countries filled 31,500 square meters of exhibition space with their presentations of new, groundbreaking technologies for the sustainable, energy-efficient coating processes of tomorrow. The event was attended by 10,400 visitors. The number of countries they represented increased from 57 to 76, making this year's PaintExpo more international than ever before. International exhibitors constituted 45 per cent of the total, and more than one in three visitors came from abroad. Exhibitor and visitor satisfaction after the trade fair was extremely high.
As the world's most important international platform for industrial coating technology, PaintExpo once again impressed exhibitors and visitors alike. "We're very pleased with the strong visitor turnout, which was even better than at the previous edition of the trade fair. PaintExpo was a powerful and innovative event – and more international than ever before. For four days, it was the nerve centre of industrial coating technology, underlining the position of PaintExpo as the most significant driving force in the industry worldwide," says Markus Geisenberger, Chief Executive Officer of Leipziger Messe.
The Whole World of Industrial Coating Technology in One Place
The world's leading trade fair for industrial coating technology covered the full international range of products and services across the entire supply chain, from pre-treatment, paints, and plant and application technology to final inspection and packaging. Highlights included a number of world premières, technological developments for more sustainable and energy-efficient coating processes, and pragmatic approaches to improving quality and digitising production processes.
The trade fair was a very positive experience for exhibitors. In the official survey, 94 per cent said that they would be exhibiting again at the next PaintExpo. Nine out of ten respondents expect good business following the fair.
Michael Müller, CEO of WAGNER International, for instance, was very satisfied with the world's leading trade fair for industrial coating technology: "Our stand was very busy from the moment the doors opened. Half the visitors we welcomed were from outside Germany. From Argentina to Japan – they came from all over the world. As a global corporation, that was especially important for us."
Oliver Zanner, Head of Marketing at FreiLacke, also had words of praise for this year's event: "Even before PaintExpo got started, the tremendous interest among the visitors was palpable. The dynamics this year were intense – really different from last year. We were able to exchange ideas with a lot of visitors, and the quality of the conversations was excellent. As a system coatings specialist and manufacturer, we meet our target customers from a wide range of industries when we come to PaintExpo. It's the most important industry get-together in our diary."
Exuding Optimism Despite Challenging Times
Even though the industry is currently facing a challenging market, the four days of PaintExpo was full of optimism. "The past year posed considerable challenges for our industry, and we had to postpone quite a few projects or abandon them altogether. However, we've seen signs of recovery since the middle of the first quarter of 2024 and investments in sustainable technologies and innovative automation solutions are clearly gaining momentum. I could sense this positive development at PaintExpo too, where a lot of interested parties and existing customers explored the latest developments in those areas. I'm convinced that a wealth of fascinating projects and state-of-the-art facilities will emerge from these discussions and am feeling good about how the rest of the year will go. We're already looking forward to the next PaintExpo and are committed to participating again," explains Thomas Rippert, Managing Director at RIPPERT.
Highly Satisfied Visitors Include Many Decision-Makers
Visitors also gave PaintExpo very good marks. In the follow-up survey, nine out of ten respondents said they would recommend PaintExpo and intend to return to the next edition of the trade fair. The number of top decision-makers, specialists and managers was also very high, with 83 per cent of visitors having an influence on investment decisions in their companies.
As Sergey Guskov, Sales and Service Manager Central and North Europe Industrial Coating Systems at Nordson Deutschland, points out, "PaintExpo offers excellent opportunities to make new contacts and initiate business. Networking is very important here. Participation in the trade fair was very successful for Nordson. We are very happy to be back at PaintExpo."
More Than One in Three Visitors from Outside Germany
PaintExpo was also very international when it came to visitors, with more than one in three attendees having travelled from abroad. In addition to Germany, an especially large percentage of visitors came from Switzerland, Italy, France and the Netherlands.
Ulrich Tautz, Senior Manager Sales Industrial Products at Dürr Systems, was also pleased that PaintExpo 2024 attracted a large number of international visitors: "One of our employees who joined us had 25 years of trade fair experience – and he said that the second day of PaintExpo was the best he'd ever experienced. My colleagues from different countries spent a lot of time talking with trade fair visitors in their respective national languages. That shows how international PaintExpo is."
A Busy Atmosphere in the Halls and Dates Already Set for the Next Edition
"There was an incredible buzz in the air in the three exhibition halls, and you could hear a lot of different languages, which shows that providers and users gather here from all over the world. At PaintExpo, exhibitors presented groundbreaking innovations, established new business contacts and discussed specific projects that will shape the future of the industry. The success of PaintExpo 2024 confirms that our work with our partners is on the right track," says Project Director Mariella Riedel.
The next edition of PaintExpo will take place from 14 to 17 April 2026 in Karlsruhe. Rebooking has already begun and the first stand spaces for PaintExpo 2026 have already been sold.
